HOW MANY SEEDS IN A PUMPKIN?Author: Margaret McNamara​Illustrator: G. Brian Karas

Number of pages: 30Publisher: Random House (USA)First published in: 2007Format: Picturebook

Is the mathematical focus explicit in the story? YesIs this story part of a mathematics story series? No

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Synopsis by the author/publisher​Here is an adorable picture book for curious kids, which explores skip counting and estimation in a fun pumpkin-themed classroom experiment.This book makes a wonderful read-aloud companion to any math or science curriculum, and it's a fun way to reinforce counting skills at home. "How many seeds are in a pumpkin?" Mr. Tiffin asks his class as they gather around the big, medium, and small pumpkins on his desk. Robert, the biggest kid, guesses that the largest one has a million seeds; Elinor, sounding like she knows what she's talking about, guesses the medium one has 500 seeds; and Anna, who likes even numbers better than odd ones, guesses that the little one has 22. Charlie, the smallest boy in the class, doesn't have a guess. Counting pumpkin seeds is messy business, but once the slimy job is done, to everyone's surprise, the smallest pumpkin has the most seeds! As Charlie happily exclaims, "Small things have a lot going on inside of them."

“"I think we should just guess." "I think we should count very, very carefully," said Tara. "I think we should count by twos, fives, and tens," said Molly.”

​Possible teaching activities:At MathsThroughStories.org, we believe that stories can be meaningfully incorporated in mathematics teaching in different ways. Thus, we are inviting you to share your experience of how you have used this story in your mathematics lesson with other members of the community. By sharing your experience with us, you will be added to our team of On-line Contributors here, where you can also find our submission guideline.​

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